These Bonds of Mine
by big red balloon
Summary: Naruto would follow Sasuke anywhere and everywhere just to save him, even into the depths of Hell itself. So he did.


I have decided that I am going to write every single fic idea that ever manages to grace this genius head of mine. This way, rather than me always losing my ideas to other people, I will instead have stolen _everything_ and ruined it for everybody else! And this is only idea number two of many... Muahaha!

**These Bonds of Mine**  
Yours To Keep

…

Naruto had expected his death to be epic, had planned his last moments with great detail accordingly, just to reflect the dramatic ends of all the films he had seen and admired. It wasn't that he _wanted _to die; on the contrary, what he wanted was his death to be the grand end to an equally grand life, fighting in the name of Konoha as its greatest ninja, ever.

He had put a lot of thought into it, actually, how he would breathe his last words to a sobbing Sakura as she cradled his bleeding body to her chest. The rest of his comrades – a group that included Sasuke, of course – would stand respectfully at a distance, eyes downcast to hide their own sorrow. It was all very romantic, exactly the kind of death a ninja like him deserved.

Naruto wondered if maybe he hadn't been slightly unrealistic with his expectations because he was dying and it wasn't anything like it was in the movies. The demon within him was silent, thanks to his inconsiderate ex- but soon to be again teammate, Sasuke.

It had all gone horribly wrong, actually, this retrieval mission that was supposed to end all retrieval missions. This time, he was going to bring Sasuke back and finally fulfill the promise he had given Sakura. But Sasuke had other plans – plans that included the destruction of Konoha, general mayhem and all these other things Naruto had no idea why Sasuke would need in the first place. He only needed recognition, after all, and Sasuke already had all that.

In the midst of executing his Grand Plans, Naruto did what he thought was best for the both of them. If he couldn't save Sasuke by bringing him back – no, he _would_ bring Sasuke back, even if it were the last thing he did. He would save his misguided teammate even if it killed him. He would protect the first and strongest bond he had ever forged, which he cherished even to this moment, as he dodged the blow aimed to remove his head from his neck.

But things had a way of surprising even him, Konoha's most surprising ninja. He had never factored in the possibility that he might not survive such a mission, nor did he expect that Sasuke wouldn't either. It was the exact sort of outcome he had thought would never come to pass.

And pass it did, straight through his heart as he returned the blow in kind to his brother, best friend, and cherished teammate. The look on Sasuke's face was almost worth it, and Naruto would've shouted gloriously at his victory had he not died just then.

It took him a moment to realize it, seeing as he was never the first one to understand anything, but he was standing comfortably on a fluffy ball of white, with a startled Sasuke at his side. His wounds were gone, and the more he glanced around, the emptier the place seemed. This couldn't be a jutsu, could it? It had only been him and Sasuke fighting and Sasuke seemed just as confused as he did.

"Uh, Sasuke? I think you _killed_ me!"

Sasuke made a face at his loud voice, clearly conveying his irritation as he looked around him. "Don't be an idiot," he said, but secretly he agreed. There was no way Naruto would have been able to survive his attack. Neither, apparently, was he able to survive Naruto's.

Wanting to argue but knowing it would get him nowhere, Naruto held his tongue as he began to move. He felt strangely compelled to move towards the light he could vaguely see in the distance. Against his better judgment, Sasuke followed the brash ninja. In unfamiliar territory, it was better to stick together anyway.

After a moment of traveling, Naruto unnecessarily declared his findings. "Hey! There are people here!"

And there were, a large group of them standing in an organized line, seemingly waiting patiently for something. Just as Naruto made to approach an elderly looking man at the end of the line, a woman appeared at his side, causing him to jump back in surprise.

"Ah, fuck!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the hyperventilating blond before he started to scream obscenities at the silent figure for startling him. Didn't she know it was rude to suddenly appear in front of people like that? How inconsiderate!

She waited patiently for him to calm down and when she did, she pointed in the opposite direction, to a line neither Naruto nor Sasuke had noticed earlier. "That is your place," she said, tonelessly.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.

Instead of answering the question, she continued to point and only repeated her first statement. "That is your place."

Naruto stared at her in confusion, crossing his arms over his chest as a look of deep concentration appeared on his face. Was she supposed to be something like an angel guiding him towards his destined fate? She certainly didn't seem like any of the kindly spirits that guided one to heaven. Suddenly skeptical of where she was sending him, Naruto continued towards his original destination.

His movements were stopped mid-step and he found himself unable to move. "What the hell? I can't, fucking, move!"

He struggled a bit before the woman was standing before him again, nearly nose to nose as she pointed at the other line and repeated in what he was beginning to think was an extremely creepy voice, "That is your place."

Having waited long enough for Naruto to make a decent decision (which actually wasn't long at all), Sasuke threw his hands up in exasperation, "Stop messing with her, Naruto." He took a firm grip on the boy's arm and began to drag him away towards the other line despite the other's violent attempts to free himself.

"No."

The word was stated angrily and suddenly the two were unable to walk again.

Frightened, Naruto turned to his dark-haired friend, "Look what you did! You pissed her off!"

"_I_ did? You were the one who was trying to get into the other line."

"Well, she was creeping me out!" Naruto replied defensively. What was he supposed to do when someone kept trying to tell him his place was elsewhere? That had never meant anything good, his place always being somewhere far below everyone else's.

In the middle of their bickering, the woman had appeared before them again to gently remove Sasuke's hold on Naruto. Looking at Sasuke, she pointed back to the original line Naruto had tried to get to before. "That is your place," she said.

Naruto was beginning to feel she didn't know how to say anything else. Offended that Sasuke was being granted something he himself had been denied earlier, Naruto angrily voiced his concerns. "Why does _he_ get to go there? Why can't I go there too?"

The woman stared at him with empty eyes. "That is not your place."

Well, anyone could have guessed she would say that. Just as Naruto was about to break out into an angry tirade, Sasuke gave him a small push. "Stop making a scene and just go," without another glance at the other, Sasuke took a spot at the end of the line, leaving a fuming blond ninja in his wake.

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto advanced with angry stomps to the other line, tapping his foot impatiently as it seemed to move slowly forward. When he glanced over, he couldn't see a trace of Sasuke or any of the others who had been waiting in line before him.

It was all too strange to him. Was the afterlife like this for everyone? With creepy, expressionless women repeating the only thing they knew how to say and pointing where people should go?

He didn't know how long he stood there before everyone around him had disappeared. Suddenly he was feeling apprehensive, not sure if he had been daydreaming or if the people had been disappearing right before his eyes. But he was feeling warm, comfortably so. The light before him was beckoning him closer, and he approached it cautiously. The closer he got, the more relaxed he felt, the irritation from earlier slowly dissipating as the warmth seemed to spread.

He closed his eyes as it washed over him, feeling a smile come to his lips. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this good. And the more he thought about it, he could barely even remember a time when he _didn't_ feel this good. What was this feeling, this unbelievably warm touch of utter happiness? It was something Sasuke definitely needed, with his constant anger and even more constant hate.

Naruto sighed as the feeling continued to warm him, thoughts of Sasuke fled his mind. If this was heaven, he didn't mind dying at all, not in the least. Sasuke should be happy he had granted him this kind of happiness. If he couldn't save him, at least he could give him this much.

…

Sasuke would never admit to anyone that he felt such things as fear and apprehension. It was not a part of being an Uchiha, not a part of being _him_, he who was capable of achieving anything and everything no matter the obstacles before him.

But standing there, in the darkened passageway as blood leaked from every crevice in sight and tortured screams echoed around him, Sasuke couldn't deny the tinge of outright dread that had lodged itself so deeply into his stomach. He could feel his heart beat unnervingly fast, and when he lifted a hand to press against it he was appalled to find the appendage visibly shaking. What was this feeling, this absolute and gripping terror that was making it difficult for him to breathe?

He felt a cold grip on his arm and he jerked wide eyes to the smiling face that had appeared beside him, staring with eyes that saw into his soul, bloody eyes that he knew could rip his heart from his chest with a single blink. It was then that he knew it, that he was looking into man's greatest nightmare, staring from only an inch away.

When the being began to guide him down the corridor, Sasuke didn't – couldn't – resist. They moved slowly, Sasuke's steps making wet noises as he stepped over blood-invested cracks. Eventually the hall opened up to a large room and his eyes flickered from table to table before him as be passed through, each with its own bleeding and crying soul as the same beings that gripped his arm caressed and lapped at their wounds.

A nearly deafening scream broke out to his left and Sasuke turned quickly to face it. A man was thrashing futilely against his restraints as a devilish being sat on his waist, leaning over his face with a tongue reaching deep into one eye-socket. Sasuke watched with not a little horror as the tongue pulled free, curled around the eyeball it had been trying to pull from its rightful place. He turned away when strong jaws crushed it between sharp teeth. The sound of it was somehow audible despite the screeching terror around him.

At the grin that widened on his guide's face, Sasuke knew without a doubt he would soon be joining in on those screams. He would never admit the terror that gripped him then, but it seemed undeniable as it grew uncontrollably. It twisted in his gut, but he would never, ever admit it…

Oh, who was he kidding? Sasuke Uchiha was in Hell.

And he was scared shitless.

…

"Welcome, boy."

The voice was touchingly sweet. Naruto wondered if this was how it felt to be welcomed by a loved one when returning home from a long trip. The warmth that had encircled him, that touched his cheeks gently, was slowly soothing all the aches he had ever agonized over. He was smiling with bewildered elation, he knew it, but he didn't care. Now that he knew such a thing as absolute happiness existed, he would never be able to give it up. Not for Konoha, not for Sakura, not even for Sasuke himself.

After all, being the selfish person that Sasuke was, Naruto couldn't very well expect him to abandon such a beautiful thing for _him_. He would never have even considered it. But Naruto couldn't help the thought that fluttered through his mind. He had been the death of Sasuke, just as Sasuke had been the death of him. They had died together, didn't he deserve a moment with his most precious friend even in death?

"Forget him, child." And Naruto nearly did, unable to deny the sweetness of that voice anything had it not continued to speak.

"That boy does not belong here but with the suffering and despair he cast upon the likes of you and everyone else. That boy shall rot in Hell and rightfully so."

Hell? Naruto's eyes jolted open. The warmth that had been comforting him so completely before suddenly felt constricting and he struggled to free himself from its grip. It disappeared the minute he made up his mind to escape and he found himself staring with wide eyes around him, where he had been before: two lines, silent souls waiting patiently for _something_.

Naruto suddenly knew just what that something was. He had just been about to embrace the death of his soul willingly. He had never been afraid to die, but the thought of leaving Sasuke behind and failing everything that he had lived for until then was more terrifying than ever. He couldn't leave him, not when he was all he had left.

Turning from the light that still exuded that tempting warmth, Naruto broke into a run towards the front of the line Sasuke had been in.

The woman from before appeared suddenly before him. "That is not your – "

Naruto shoved a hand into her face, sending her flying backwards.

"Fuck you and your place! I'm going to save Sasuke!"

Leaving the promise of warmth and happiness behind him, Naruto tore through the darkness at the front of the line, startling the mindless souls that had been waiting unknowingly for an eternity of torment. With a wild grin on his face, Naruto dove straight into the depths of Hell itself. He would save Sasuke, he _would_!

Even if it was the last thing he did.


End file.
